Contents

History

Advertisements

Influences and origins

When The Sims
was released in 2000, it had been called "almost the only game of
its kind"[2].
But there are several important precursors to The Sims and
the social simulation genre. Firstly, the game's creator Will
Wright acknowledges the influence of Little Computer People[3],
a Commodore 64
game from 1985. The games are similar, although The Sims
is described as a richer gameplay experience.[2]
Secondly, Will Wright acknowledged the influence of
dollhouses on The
Sims[4],
a comparison that has since been repeated.[2]
This has informed the gameplay of this emerging genre.

Animal
Crossing was released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. While released towards the
end of the life cycle of the Nintendo 64, it developed a following
that led to it being ported to the Nintendo Gamecube
and released throughout the world. As the game's popularity has
surged, this series has also been described as a social simulation
game[5][6]

Since the success of these games in the early 2000s, game
reviewers have begun to refer to similar games as belonging to a
social simulation game genre.

Recent
history

Several other social simulation games have emerged to capitalize
on the success of The Sims. This includes several sequels
and expansion packs, as well as games like Singles: Flirt Up
Your Life with heavy similarities.[7]